The Schwartz Report

Why SharePoint Admins Should Check Out Surface Pro 3

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Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 could benefit all types of workers looking for a laptop that they can also use as a tablet. Among them are SharePoint administrators.

As soon as the new Surface Pro 3s went on sale at BestBuy 10 days ago, Tamir Orbach, Metalogix's director of product management for SharePoint migration product, went out and bought one. Having seen my first-look write up last week, he reached out, wanting to share with me his observations on the device in general and why he believes every SharePoint administrator would benefit by having one.

Many of his customers who are SharePoint administrators tend to have a small, low end Windows tablet or iPad and a heavy laptop or desktop on their desks. Orbach believes the Surface Pro 3's high resolution, light weight and the coming availability of a unit with an Intel Core i7 processor and 8GB of RAM will make the device suitable as a SharePoint administrator's only PC and tablet.

"Pretty much all of us professionals want or need both a laptop or desktop and a slate," Orbach said. "It's so light that you can carry it anywhere you want and you would barely even feel it. And the screen is big enough, the resolution is good, the functionality is powerful enough to be used as our day-to-day computer."

We chatted about various aspects of the device:

New keyboard: The new keyboard is bigger and we both agreed the fact that it can be locked on an angle is a significant improvement over previous systems (which only could be used in a flat position). Orbach said one downside to that new angle is you can feel the bounce, which is true but it's not that bad in my opinion. "I'd definitely take it over the flat one though," he said.

Cost and configuration: Orbach bought the unit configured with a 128GB SSD and 4GB of RAM. That unit cost $999 plus $129 for the keyboard. A SharePoint administrator would be better off with at least the system with a 256GB drive and 8GB of RAM but there's a $300 premium. For one with a i7 processor, you're up to $1,549 without the keyboard.

Docking station: If the Surface Pro 3 becomes your only computer it would be worth adding the docking station if you have a primary work area.

If you're a SharePoint administrator or any type of IT pro, do you think the Surface Pro 3 would help you do your job better?